Book ~ "Another One Bites the Crust" (2018) Ellie Alexander

From Goodreads ~ Torte - the beloved small-town bakeshop run by Jules Capshaw - is set to hit the stage. But who would have guessed that murder would makes a surprise appearance?

It’s the role of a lifetime for Jules. The Shakespeare Festival has returned to Ashland, Oregon, for the season and Torte has been cast as the supplier of Elizabethan-era treats for the main event. But on the eve of opening night, a brawl between Jules’s friend Lance, the artistic director, and a strapping young thespian named Anthony almost brings down the house ... and the next morning, Anthony is dead. 

Jules knows that Lance loves his drama - and his just desserts - but she also knows that murder is way off-script for him. Now it’s up to Jules to cut through a bevy of backstage betrayals and catty co-stars who all have their own secrets - before the curtain drops on someone else.

Juliet (aka Jules) was raised in small town Ashland, OR, but dreamed of seeing the world.  She grew up helping her parents in their bakery, Torte, and went on to culinary school.  She got a job with a cruise line and didn't get home often after that.  She met her husband, Carlos, an executive chef, on a cruise and things were going well until she discovered he had a secret.  With a broken heart, she headed home to figure things out.  It's been over six months and she now happily shares ownership of Torte with her mother. 

Ashland is a quaint Shakespeare-theme town and the Shakespeare Festival is starting up again for another season.  After opening night, one of the lead actors is found murdered by Lance, the festival's artistic director, and he is soon arrested.  Though Lance and Antony didn't get along and Lance is a drama queen, Jules doesn't think her best friend killed Antony and sets out to find out who did.

In the meantime, Jules' mother recently got engaged to Doug, the town's head of police, and she is busy helping her mother plan the wedding.

This is the seventh in the Bakeshop Mystery series and I liked it.  I've been reading the books in this series and have read all in this author's Sloan Krause Series.  This book works as a stand alone ... there is enough information provided.  It's written in first person perspective in Jules' voice.   It was a quick light read and is a "cozy mystery" so there is no swearing, violence or adult activity. There are recipes at the end.  I look forward to reading the others in this series.